“I’ve encountered a murderer who started to dismember a body and suddenly called the police during the process. When we arrived at the scene, the murderer was sitting in a pool of blood, breaking down in tears… To dismember a body so meticulously, cutting a fellow human into pieces over a very long time, and then successfully completing it, and disposing of the parts… It’s either extreme brutality or psychosis,” Lin Wangjiu pinched a cigarette behind his ear, fiddling with a lighter in his pocket, pacing restlessly.
“Currently, no hands have been found, no fingerprints. Also no head… Identifying the victim is very difficult,” Fang Zhenyue’s brows were tightly knit, he stood up and started searching around.
Fang Zhenyue didn’t finish his sentence, but Lin Wangjiu understood.
Every year, the number of people who disappear in Hong Kong is countless.
Without being able to identify the victim and without any other clues, no matter how atrocious the murder method, it’s very difficult to solve the case.
He wiped off his sweat, hearing Fang Zhenyue inquire about Gary and others who were searching a wide area far away, and hearing their replies of “no,” felt the flames of frustration burning even fiercer in his chest, with the sound of people around gradually turning into a buzzing noise.
At this moment, Yi Jiayi’s face also didn’t look good. The information she received indicated not only the difficulty of solving the case but also how much police resources, effort, and time it might take to grind out the case.
She saw even more—
The murderer, shrouded in dimness, swapped his dark green long-sleeve shirt from the previous psychic image for a gray T-shirt.
The one under his grip was no longer a slightly overweight woman, naked and vulnerable, but rather a slender and tall girl. Her body bore fresh cuts from a knife and long bruises from whipping. As the murderer choked and pressed down on her, her struggles were feeble, ending with only her fingers twitching.
After this segment of the psychic image, Yi Jiayi saw another segment of a corpse and restarted a new image:
The murderer pressed a tall woman against the wall. She had a large frame, almost appearing wider and more robust than the murderer, but at this moment, she was subdued by his strength, her body hanging limply. Each time she tried to swing at the murderer, she could only weakly wave her arms in vain.
Her pained grunts and powerless crying made the murderer appear even more imposing and powerful. Seemingly inspired by her reactions, he lifted her higher and gripped her more tightly.
This time, Yi Jiayi only saw the back of the murderer, his messy short hair, and a round-neck short T-shirt.
Next, there were third and fourth segments of the image…
Yi Jiayi’s fingers trembled slightly, and her face gradually turned pale.
It wasn’t until a strong hand patted her shoulder that she realized she was shivering in the hot weather.
Fang Zhenyue handed her a bottle of water, which she obediently took but couldn’t twist open.
He took it back, opened it for her, and handed it back.
After drinking half the bottle, Yi Jiayi wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Fang Zhenyue watched her finish drinking before handing her the bottle cap and patting her back as a form of comfort.
“Let’s go, back to the police station.”
Chen Guangyao had searched under the blazing sun twice, and Sir Xu had collected all the body parts. The scene work was done, and it was time to return for lab tests and autopsy.
…
The atmosphere in the car on the way back was dismal. The forensic officer took off his white gloves and remained silent for a while before speaking:
“The body parts were chopped finely, and the initial assumption is that the murder weapon was a bone-chopping knife.
“The murderer likely had no knowledge of anatomy; some cuts were aimed at joints, while others were just random slashes.
“The cuts and chops on the body parts were meaningless, as if the murderer was venting his emotions while dismembering the body.”
“It’s either personal, or he’s a psychopath,” Liu Jiaming gritted his teeth.
Xu Junhao remained silent; profiling the murderer was not his job as a forensic expert.
“There were no other signs of activity at the body dumping ground; the murderer probably just threw the body on the grassy slope and didn’t linger or make unnecessary movements, so no clues about the murderer were left. The body bag had no blood on the outside, suggesting the murderer was quite calm when packaging the body parts. Back at the station, we’ll try to collect fingerprints from the bag, but…” Chen Guangyao sighed.
“Hope is slim?” Fang Zhenyue frowned.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s start with the bag and the body to see if there are any clues,” Fang Zhenyue nodded towards Chen Guangyao.
“Right, we’ll try to run more tests to see if we can find any special substances or clues,” Chen Guangyao patted Fang Zhenyue on the shoulder, who returned the gesture by patting Chen’s arm.
Upon arriving at the police station, everyone encouraged each other and then went their separate ways.
Gary went to stake out in the forensic department, while Fang Zhenyue and others followed into the autopsy room.
The forensic officer took out pieces of the corpse, judged their positions one by one, and assembled them.
When the last piece was in Xu Junhao’s hands, he struggled to determine something when Yi Jiayi, who had been silent until then, finally spoke:
“These limbs don’t belong to the same person.”
Xu Junhao froze, looked up at Yi Jiayi, then at the corpse pieces on the autopsy table, and asked in confusion:
“Why?”
Lin Wangjiu glanced at Yi Jiayi, wondering if this guy could not only tell the killer’s identity but also read the corpses?
He looked around. Surely she wasn’t actually communicating with the dead, and now seeing many ghosts around, claiming there was more than one victim?
“Eleven, that’s not how you close a case. Sir Xu is thorough, don’t speak without thinking,” Lin Wangjiu waved his hand, signaling Yi Jiayi to observe more and talk less.
The young female officer had been scrutinized a lot since she was transferred from clerical work.
If she kept making reckless mistakes, it would look bad for the Major Crime unit.
Yi Jiayi pursed her lips, for the first time not responding obediently when spoken to.
She locked eyes with Xu Junhao, her gaze firm. Turning to meet Fang Zhenyue’s eyes, she also pursed her lips, her face solemn, unwilling to retract her ‘nonsense’.
Fang Zhenyue looked at her, didn’t scold her, but instead approached the autopsy table to examine the corpse pieces closely with Xu Junhao.
Xu Junhao bent over, about to conduct a thorough examination with the question of ‘whether these pieces belonged to the same person’.
Just then, the door to the autopsy room was suddenly opened, and a forensic scientist from the forensic department walked in with a test result, handing it to Fang Zhenyue while saying to Xu Junhao:
“Sir Xu, we conducted a blood test immediately, confirming that the blood collected at the scene did not come from the same person. We still need to continue with DNA testing to determine how many individuals it involves.”
Xu Junhao’s eyes widened, staring intently at the forensic scientist.
“What’s wrong?” The forensic scientist, seeing everyone looking at him with strange expressions, also looked down at himself in confusion. Nothing seemed amiss; his lab coat was neat and tidy.
Everyone snapped back to reality, their gazes shifting to Yi Jiayi, filled with surprise, disbelief, and more so, astonishment and confusion.
Lin Wangjiu touched his nose and stepped aside.
Yi Jiayi had actually guessed right!
Unconsciously rubbing his arms, he felt chills again. Looking around, there were no so-called ghosts, just them.
But…
He reached to touch the cigarette behind his ear, which he hadn’t had the chance to smoke, and couldn’t help thinking: he should have kept his mouth shut. The young girl really was unusual, why not just let her speak?
Why did he have to meddle, acting all self-important and condescending?
Thinking this, his view of Yi Jiayi changed; not only did he feel more respect, but also a hint of fear.
Xu Junhao was too engrossed to talk to the forensic analyst, and instead bent down to carefully examine the body parts.
After a basic examination of livor mortis and limb inspection, he looked up, opened his mouth to temper his surprise, and then began:
“Based on the livor mortis, the time of death for the body parts doesn’t coincide.
“There might be other influencing factors, but judging by the skin color and bones—”
He looked at Yi Jiayi and nodded seriously:
“The limbs indeed don’t belong to the same victim. Did you observe the livor mortis earlier?”
Yi Jiayi didn’t speak. She bit her lip, staring at the body parts on the autopsy table, and re-entered her mental zone of deep observation.
She needed to look closer, to remember more details beyond the killer’s face, perhaps to catch an important clue.
Seeing Yi Jiayi so focused on observing the body parts, Xu Junhao couldn’t help but click his tongue:
“Youth to be feared, youth to be feared…”
No wonder Inspector Fang had transferred her to the major crime team… Not just because she was warm, sweet, and pretty, but truly because of her exceptional ability.
…
“After an initial examination, the victim count is five…” Having finished the autopsy round, Xu Junhao removed his gloves, took off his hat, and walked while briefing Fang Zhenyue and others about the information gathered during the autopsy.
Yi Jiayi was assigned to organize and collect forensic reports with Gary. Xu Junhao glanced back at the young policewoman’s figure, thinking more and more highly of her capabilities.
The conditions at the dumpsite were complex, with glaring sunlight, environmental color, and fluctuating temperatures. Under those circumstances, conducting an autopsy could easily lead to misjudgments due to environmental factors.
Moreover, with the chaotic information at the time, collecting evidence and body parts was crucial to ensuring that no important fragments or clues were missed at the scene.
Even he wasn’t sure if he could prepare instantly under such conditions and conclude that there was more than one victim.
Let alone that nobody would have expected the body parts to belong to several different individuals, so they wouldn’t have taken the time to compare details like livor mortis initially.
Yi Jiayi was only a few steps away, yet she could make an accurate judgment just by looking.
He glared at Fang Zhenyue, locking eyes with him for a few seconds before he finally spoke, suppressing his emotions:
“How did she know?”
And she knew just by looking from afar!
There was no need to ask who Xu Junhao was talking about, as Fang Zhenyue already knew what the other was puzzled about.
Good, finally someone from outside Team B was also confused by the young policewoman. If they were curious, let them all be curious together; no one would be exempted.
He smirked mysteriously, took the lab report, glanced at Sir Xu, and joked:
“Don’t ask. If you ask, it’s like being possessed by a ghost.”
After saying that, Fang Zhenyue strode away, leaving Xu Junhao with a question mark on his forehead, staring at his back for a long time, unable to move.
“?”
What?